It is official: the pitter-patter of tiny feet can be heard, delivering
history. It is the sound of the crown prince of football, Lionel Messi,
closing inexorably on Gerd Muller’s phenomenal 40-year-old record of 85
goals for club and country in a calendar year.

Master at work: Lionel Messi scores the first of his two goals in the 5-1 route of Athletic BilbaoPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

Surely against either Benfica on Wednesday or Real Betis at the weekend, Messi will equal and eclipse “Der Bomber”.

For Bayern Munich and West Germany, Muller was a finisher extraordinaire, a poacher with an acrobat’s agility to reach the ball and transfer it instantly past a keeper. “A football game is far from easy, goals never come cheaply,’’ sang Muller in a pop record of limited musical merit, yet this was a performer who made the game’s most important art form look so easy.

So does Messi, albeit as a totally different player, a dribbling zephyr and far more feline than the stocky Muller. Messi’s magic was on show in Barcelona's 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Nou Camp on Sunday, his double taking him to 84 for 2012. He ventured wide at times, early on almost gliding through down the right, but his relentless runs through the middle operated like a surgeon’s scalpel on Bilbao.

The visitors doubled up on him, at times trebled up, occasionally succeeding in closing him down, those red-and-white stripes resembling prison bars. He still escaped, still created chances, as well as scoring twice.

Anyone admiring the television footage of the Argentine’s darting footwork could squint and just imagine it was his celebrated compatriot Diego Maradona in his Eighties pomp. Blur the eyes and there were memories of Maradona, transfixing with a cobra’s stare a line of six Belgians breaking nervously from a wall at the 1982 World Cup. Four years later, Maradona conjured up the goal voted the greatest in World Cup history, moving imperiously through England’s midfield and defence like a wriggling eel.

Comparisons between generations are dangerous, and Messi must still deliver in a World Cup, but he can be spoken about in the same awed breath as Maradona. Just as those fortunate enough to watch Maradona live knew greatness, so it is now with Messi.

He is special because he makes children fall in love with the game and turns world-weary, seen-it-all adults into wide-eyed children again. This weekend highlighted his irrepressible, illuminating brilliance.

There were many highlights. Messi embodies Barcelona’s ability to mix their style, keeping possession and then suddenly going through the gears. He can link moves and race through when a gap opens such as in pursuit of a laser-guided Xavi pass.

As Messi ran though on Gorka Iraizoz, the Athletic keeper advanced but he was riddled with uncertainty.

These are the imbalanced duels of sport, Messi versus a goalkeeper. Iraizoz resembled a boxer climbing into the ring with Ali, with an air of “abandon hope all ye who enter here’’.

There was a brutal inevitability to the goal as Messi’s mere presence, and slightest of movement in the hips, committed Iaizoz early, allowing the Argentine to lift the ball back over him via Fernando Amorebieta on the line. (The dubious goals committee would have been scrambled in England).

One of the myriad joys of Messi, one of the many reasons he is such an ambassador for the game, arrived in his celebration. There was no crowing, no belittling of the opposition. He pointed to the heavens, a dedication to his grandmother who “took me to football but now she can’t see how far I have come” as once he told Spanish daily Marca. Nice touch: remembering those who helped him on his path to the heights. Humility defines Messi on and off the pitch, making him even more of a role model than Maradona ever was.

He even smiled, too often a rarity in the modern game. Messi expresses joy at his goals, giving thanks to his team-mates. This virtuoso is also the ultimate team-player. Any parent seeking the perfect DVD gift for an aspiring footballer need look no further than 90 minutes of Messi here, and this was not even his most bravura display of an epic year.

Wearing gloves, Messi should really have had a cape in his hands such were the attacking flourishes that weakened Bilbao. His dexterity with a dead-ball was, admittedly, not quite at its zenith. With one free-kick, Messi imparted the required curl but insufficient dip to find the goal. Yet he carried on, ignoring swarms of Bilbao bodies, creating a chance for Cesc Fabregas, hitting the bar, before helping fashion the third just before half-time.

Messi’s contribution here was arguably even more impressive than his two goals. His awareness of team-mates’ movement shone through. Hounded by three opponents, this model of balance, technique and determination made good ground down the inside-left corridor.

No other current team enjoy so much possession and such depth of gifted personnel as Barcelona. There is so much movement for Messi to pick out, with his colleagues assisted by the opposition’s obsession with Barcelona’s No 10.

Pressed hard, Messi simply showed vision and accuracy to cut the ball back to Fabregas, who teed up Adriano to score.

It would still be fascinating to judge Messi in a team of less sumptuous talents, without the golden supply line of illustrious talents such as Xavi and Andres Iniesta. One back-heel from Iniesta to Messi after 55 minutes was almost worth the entrance money alone. Athletic’s defence was sent so far in the wrong direction they almost needed to pay for readmission into the Nou Camp.

In moving to within a goal of Muller on 70 minutes, Messi did equal an important national mark, matching Cesar Rodriguez’s record of 190 goals for Barcelona in La Liga. The goal came after a lengthy move looked to have broken down only for Messi to keep it alive, controlling a pass from Pedro, leaving Ander Iturraspe chasing thin air before curling the ball into the roof of the net.

He could have had a hat-trick but sent a header over; for one so small and sleight, Messi can impose himself aerially, as Manchester United discovered in the Champions League final in Rome. His goalscoring range is a palette of many colours belonging to a master artist. To borrow local parlance, Messi is more than a player. He is already a legend. We are fortunate to live in his time.